Diary of a Trauma Nurse

Friday, November 23, 2007

Flashback: My very first night in Trauma

I was sitting and thinking about the newbies we're getting in our critical care unit where I work now at Southern Hills Medical Center. I thought back to when I was a fairly new nurse and had just started in Trauma and how I felt. My very first night on the unit. I arrived in this very large, scary unit. An intimidating place to say the least. I had worked in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)at Vanderbilt but Trauma was an entirely different world. (Now remind me, WHAT was I doing making THAT transition as a nurse less than a year old?)

I found my preceptor who was very kind and reassuring. Then she is told that 3 nurses called in, we were to be in the "Sand Box" (which I find out later is where the Level II or less critical are admitted). But one thing I did learn, if they are bad enough to be sent to the Trauma Unit at Vanderbilt, they are CRITICAL.

So we start to get report on 5 patients. (Ratio is normally 2 pts: 1 nurse). She then says "these are your two and I'll take these three. Think you can do it?" OMG! My very first patient I got report on was a 24 year old that had shot himself in the face with a shotgun because his girlfriend was breaking up with him. (He had been there for awhile so he was one of the "stable ones".) When I looked at him I was ashamedly horrified. I was silently thankful that I was able to keep my composure although I did not know how. He still had his eyes, his nose was gone, just the orifice where a sound between snoring and a gurgling choke was emitted. Where his mouth had been was tissue that had been sewn up. He had a peg tube where meds as well as nutrition was given. The patient would continue to write notes asking for a mirror. I was told not to give him one. To this day I wonder if that was the right decision. Anyway, in my job now I've learned so much more about suicidal patients and 6404 papers.

I inquired about this patient about 6 months later and was told that when he finally did go home he put antifreeze into his peg tube. He was found dead by his parents.

In all honesty, I can't even remember my other patient.

Throughout the world, about 2000 people kill themselves each day. That's about 80 per hour, three quarters of a million a year. In the U.S., there are more than 80 deaths from suicide every day, 30,000 every year. This is the equivalent of a fully loaded jumbo jet crash every fifth day. From another perspective, you are more likely to kill yourself than be killed by someone else.

CoryTraumaRN posted today at 5:00 PM

Comments:

Hi, I'm am soon to be a GN in June and I just accepted a position in the ER...this is an amazing story...did you work in the ER first then go into Trauma ICU...this is the plan I have...I want to get into a Level 1 Trauma Center after my time in the ER...and then go into a Trauma ICU...The hospital that I am at is a Level 3...just wanted a little direction...I

# posted by

dnm_rn : 7:37 PM

I'm so sorry I didn't respond to this sooner. Yes, I worked in the ER first and then went into Trauma. And then continued to do ER through the years. I love it. Best of luck. You can do anything you put your mind too. Especially if your heart is in it. :)

# posted by

CoryTraumaRN : 12:13 AM

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